Lost in the Night
by hannahmariakatherine
Summary: Anakin comforts Luke in the middle of the night, while facing his own demons. One-shot.


Anakin looked at his tiny newborn son. His fingers slowly brushed Luke's cheek. Anakin was as dead as a doornail, though he was in fact a ghost. The same could not be said for Luke.

He watched as the new baby slowly opened his eyes. The winds of Tatooine slowly whistled in the night. There was not a sand storm, for now. But the same could not be said for Anakin's essence.

All was silent. Not a sound escaped the baby's lips as the baby drifted back to sleep, and Tatooine was certainly not breaking the precious little silence.

Anakin looked out over the desert. The land of his birth was the same as ever. It was dark now. The blazing heat and light of the two suns of Tatooine had disappeared. Anakin felt that nature was now reflecting the current state of the galaxy.

As he reflected on what exactly had gone wrong, for the millionth time, a sense of despair grew over him. All hope seemed to be lost. His half-crazed other self Darth Vader, and the Emperor – who he had trusted! – were in control of the galaxy.

He noticed the baby stirring. Anakin instantly went to check up on the baby. He stretched out in the Force, trying to sense what baby Luke wanted. He realized the baby was having a little nightmare. Anakin chuckled humorlessly and morosely, thinking how nightmares had started all this. Why did nightmares always come when he was least prepared for them? A little tear trickled down his invisible face in the night.

He straightened himself, standing up. This despair was not going to change anything. Only light could take away the darkness.

Anakin began to sing a little lullaby. He knew no one could hear him, but still he sung. He made up words to calming little tunes, mostly to calm himself rather than the already sleeping baby. He hoped that Luke could be the guiding light towards the galaxy. He hoped that Luke would never feel the way he was feeling now. He sincerely prayed to whatever supernatural being was out there that Luke would never die in the way he had.

He told Luke in the darkness of the night that Luke would be the light. He told him, that he wished strength and hope upon him. He talked to him, telling him his hopes for the future. He told him how he refused to fear for Luke's future. Luke would be strong. Anakin would have hope for that. Luke was his hope. The darkness would disappear as soon as the sunrise came. And the sunrise would be Luke, and his other child, Leia.

Anakin cringed as he heard the call of the Tusken Raiders. He had seen his mother again, after his other self had turned, and he had died. He no longer felt angry with the Tuskens for what they had done, but he still felt fear, pain, and again sorrow when he thought of the impact his mother's death had on the galaxy. They should all still be alive, Padme, himself, all the Jedi… All this death.

Anakin cried bitterly for a few minutes as he crept away from the baby to be by himself. He did not stray far though; he remained in the little room Luke was sleeping in. The physical and the supernatural darkness around him surrounded him, singing its own hopeless song. He tried to push it away, but the darkness could never go away if the Sith were in power, and the Jedi were dead. But wait – Luke and Leia.

Anakin looked at the baby. Luke was still evidently having his nightmare. So Anakin decided to stop pining for what could never be, and instead focus on calming Luke. Anakin still longed for life, he longed for Luke to be able to feel his presence in the Force. He gently picked the baby up and resumed singing. His voice sounded more melancholy than before.

Anakin began to sing: "Fear not this night, you will not go astray. Though shadows fall, still the stars find their way." Anakin thought to Luke with warmth in his heart, "you are a star. My star. My light. My Luke."

The night sky loomed, black as ever before. Anakin held the baby's hand in his own, shaking it a little. Luke seemed to be calming down. As he held the baby, he wrapped him in his own strong arms. He showed Luke the seemingly small stars and the two of them smiled together, Luke still in his sleep. Anakin silenced, just to look at his son's face. Even through the darkness of the night, he still thought he looked beautiful.

As he began to feel himself fading away, he put the baby back into his tiny crib. He smiled at Luke one last time, before he disappeared for now into the shadows.

A few hours later, Luke woke to the first crack of light.

 **A/N: This one-shot is based off:** _ **Unknown Fact**_ **by whenthemarshmellowmettheslayyer. The lyrics in the song are from "Fear not this Night," sung by Malukah on YouTube.**


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